Peace must be based on the broadest support

The road to Middle East peace is so strewn with failed initiatives that it is tempting to think that the latest effort by Tony Blair and his Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, is just another intervention doomed to failure. That may well be its fate. But it has, at least, the virtue of being part of a determined effort by the British Prime Minister to breathe life into the exercise. Following his visit to Washington earlier this month, Mr Blair plans to go to Israel before Christmas and to host a full peace conference in London as early as possible next year.

Mr Straw's preliminary visit this week comes at an auspicious moment in Palestinian and Israeli affairs. The death of Yasser Arafat has opened the way for the election of a new Palestinian leadership that could prove more moderate in its dealings with the Israelis, while the Israeli government's plans to dismantle the settlements in Gaza sets a precedent that could lead to a wider withdrawal from other parts of the occupied territories.

The danger in Tony Blair's determination to lead a new push for peace is excessive hope. No conference can work without the full support of Israel, and Prime Minister Sharon's cancellation of a meeting on Wednesday with the British Foreign Secretary on health grounds may be an indication of the relatively low priority the Israelis are according his trip. At the same time, his visit comes when the Palestinians for their part are still in a state of flux following the death of President Arafat. A smooth succession is far from assured, as the decision yesterday by the popular former Palestinian leader in the West Bank, Marwan Barghouti, to contest the Fatah leadership from an Israeli cell illustrates.

Tony Blair may want speedy results, not least for his own electoral reasons, but the Middle East tends to thwart even the best-intentioned efforts of those in a hurry. Nor will the election of a moderate Palestinian leadership necessarily be helped by the over-zealous support of Britain and America. Jack Straw airily dismissed yesterday the secret talks which the EU has initiated with Hamas. But peace, if it is to happen, must be based on the broad support of all Palestinian groups, including the extremists.